Lead institution:
Stazione Zoologica ‘Anton Dohrn’ – Italy
The observational program LTER-Marechiara regularly monitors since the mid-1980s the pelagic ecosystem of the Gulf of Naples, a densely populated northwestern Mediterranean region of high economical and conservational value.
Environmental variables measured at the LTER-MC reference site include abiotic factors (i.e. temperature, irradiance, salinity, dissolved oxygen, inorganic and organic nutrients, carbon and particulate nitrogen, dissolved organic carbon) and biological variables (fluorescence, chlorophyll and other photosynthetic pigments, picoplankton and heterothrophic bacteria, phytoplankton and mesozooplankton).
The possibility to access enhanced biological in situ information (through innovative optic and omics technology) and to conduct experiments testing hypothese arising from the long-term observations, makes LTER-Marechiara a key program for (i) an improved understanding of marine ecosystem dynamics and (ii) a sustainable management of marine resources in the Northwest Mediterranean.
This Project is hosted by the Ocean Decade Programme Marine Life 2020
Start date: 01/01/1984
End date: 01/02/2032
Lead Contact: Priscila Licandro (priscilla.licandro@szn.it)